How Do I Pray?

Sunday, June 25, 2023

Good morning, Lord

Verse of the Day: Jeremiah 23:24 New King James Version

Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?” says the Lord; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.

Memory verse: John 10:27-28...27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Today's reading: JOB 3-4 ACTS 7:44-60

How Shall We pray?

The better question should probably be, "How do we deal with our selfishness without our selfishness being the focus?"

I reached out to our very good friend who prepares our bulletin at church each week and asked him if he would email me a copy of the bulletin(for the prayer list inside) because I had misplaced mine(it has to be in this house somewhere-I may be sitting on it right now...). He sent it back to me and as I prayed, I realized a few things about how I should pray. I am not saying anyone should follow my lead. I am suggesting that you follow the Lord's lead in the Lord's prayer and go from there and God will lead you.

So, I thought, I should pray for all the names I call before the Lord to:

...draw near to God.

James 4:8 Come near to God, and God will come near to you. You are sinners. So clean sin out of your lives. You are trying to follow God and the world at the same time. Make your thinking pure.

And there it is: I am trying to follow God and the world at the same time. I am a sinner. I must make my thinking pure. I must draw near to God.

I must draw near to God. I must get as close to God as I can before I pray. How do I do that? Jesus has told us.

Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

We cannot be humble before God as long as we carry our selfishness in our thoughts before God-easily said but really hard to figure out.

I must pray for myself without being selfish? Yes, we all must but how do we do that? Well first, praying for a list of people and their needs for healing and comfort puts us in a good frame of mind. But before that we must remember a line out of the 23rd Psalm.

"He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His namesake." He leads me for His purposes and not mine.

"Father in Heaven,

I take up my cross, I leave me behind on my cross. Lead me into Your purpose for me today."

I must not only pray this for me but pray this for all I pray for. I must pray for folks to wake up to the reality of God's purpose for them-His purpose for them-as they take up their own crosses and follow Him. I must pray for all of us to leave our selfishness behind and humble ourselves before God.

One cannot walk humbly before God without a healthy prayer life and that means constant maintenance. At some point in the last hundred years, everyone changed oil in their own vehicles. Now, no one seems to know how. They pay someone else to do it. We call plumbers and painters and carpenters and roofers-no one does much maintenance of any kind any more.

This devotional came from a challenge from God to me several years ago. I taught and preached for people to be faithful and have a quiet time everyday-to memorize scripture and journal, etc. God challenged me to prove that I practiced what I preach and to encourage people to do the same. My journaling is what you read each day. It is my maintenance-my spiritual maintenance-day after day-year after year. I cannot truly live without maintenance-Godly maintenance-none of us can.

So, how should we pray? We start by asking God to challenge us to practice His maintenance for our spiritual lives everyday. Take up our crosses-pray for others to do the same(put your enemies at top of the list). Spend time silently before God. Learn to let God fill us with praise for Him.

No, it is not easy to start. But as we practice His maintenance, He allows us to feel His power and love greater and greater for Him and our neighbors.

Ask God to challenge you.

...because He loves us...

Father in Heaven,

Challenge me to practice Your divine maintenance. I am so lazy. Teach me humility before Your throne. Forgive me.

Great God of all consistency,

In the name of Christ Jesus,

Amen